Anthony Expounds on Everything from Watts to New Orleans to His New
Movie

Anthony Anderson was born in Compton, California on August 15,
1970, and attended the High School for the Performing Arts in L.A. He
returned to his hometown after graduating from Howard University to take
a shot at showbiz in Hollywood. Since his breakout role opposite the
late Aaliyah in Romeo Must Die in 2000, he's enjoyed a meteoric rise
courtesy of a string of successful outings which has included such hits
as Big Momma's House, Me, myself & Irene, Barbershop, Two Can Play That
Game, Scary Movie 3 & 4, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and The
Departed, which won the Oscar for Best Picture earlier this year.

On TV, he starred in
All about the Andersons, a short-lived, eponymous sitcom on the WB
network, and he has also enjoyed recurring roles on The Shield, Bernie
Mac, Ally McBeal, and ’Til Death. And he's recently agreed to do a cop
series for Fox, to be set and shot in New Orleans, called K-Ville.

Anthony is married
to
his college sweetheart, Alvina, and the couple lives in L.A. with their
two kids, Kyra and Nathan. Here, the gifted, gap-toothed funnyman talks
about his latest work in Transformers, where he plays computer geek
Glen Whitmann.

AA: I was
completely familiar with Transformers. I grew up watching the cartoon,
playing with the action figures myself, Optimus Prime and Megatron and
all these guys. That's my era. And to play with these same toys that I
played with, 25 years later, with my son, and not only to play with
them, but to have a chance to take my son to the movie and have him
watch me in it, that's why I had to be a part of it. So, when I heard
that they were making this film, and that there was the possibility of a
character I could play in it, I was like, ’I have to be in this.’ And
I'm such a fan of The Transformers that even if I wasn't on board, I'd
be saying ’They better not mess it up.’

KW: Tell me a
little about your character, Glen.

AA: I'm
brought in to help decipher this computer language that the Autobots and
Decepticons are speaking. It's a computer language that no one can seem
to decipher. So, they come to the smart guy. I have a computer hacking
problem. I've actually hacked into the Pentagon a few times. I do things
that I shouldn’t do with my computer. I've escaped being caught, yet for
some reason, I'm just drawn to it. It excites me, even though I know
what the ramifications could be. I've actually been warned. They could
never prove anything, per se, but I've been given stern warnings from
the government and our local authorities about the activities that I do.
But they can't prove anything, because I'm just a tad bit smarter than
them.

KW: What did
you think of the movie's sets?

AA: The first
time I walked onto the Megatron set, I said ’Wow!’ I did. I had my son
with me that day, and his jaw dropped. He was just as excited as I was.

So, I really have to
tip my hat to our set decorators and designers on this film. Everyone,
actually, across the board, but in particular, them, for how they’re
able to recreate these rooms and bring these cubbyholes, these
soundstages, to life the way they have. It really gives us something to
work with as actors, as opposed to when it's like, ’Okay, let's go
pretend like we're in the Pentagon. Let's pretend that we're in the
catacombs of the library.’ Or, let's pretend we're here or there.
They've actually recreated that feeling for us, and it's just amazing

KW: What
would you do if you encountered a transformer in real life?

AA: [Bleep]
on myself. Excuse, can I say that? You can bleep that out. I'd be
petrified. But I tell you this: I'd get in the car. That's my
personality. Because, if they’re rolling up on me like that, whatever's
going to happen is going to happen anyway. And I'd want to be a part of
it.

KW: Are you
happy with the film?

AA: All I
know is that we have a great film that is going to go through the roof
and knock people's socks off. And possibly convert the naysayers, if
there are any out there. But trust me, when they see this, it's going to
be unlike anything they've ever seen before.

KW: Tell me a
little about the plotline of your new TV series, K-Ville.

AA: I don't
know where it's going. The just finally assembled the writing staff. We
start shooting July 17th in New Orleans, and I'm looking
forward to it. I don't know what direction it's headed, or what's going
to happen. All I know is that at the end of the pilot episode, you're
sitting there watching it, and you want more. As I watched it, and the
credits started to roll, I went ’Wow! I want to see what's going to
happen with these guys next week.’ But I don't know where the scripts
are going.

KW: How is
the recovery coming along in New Orleans?

AA: While shooting
the pilot there, the Lower Ninth Ward was still completely decimated and
destroyed, 19 months later. Just a barren wasteland’ And not only that
community, but the surrounding communities and parishes, too. I think
that's indicative of what our government will do or won’t do, and of its
lack of a war on poverty. It was a shame to sit in a community with
people who lived through this and to see the lack of help they’re
receiving to this day. That's why I applaud Fox for having our show
there, for bringing jobs back to the community, and for lending a
helping hand in rebuilding the region. I don't think we can rest on our
laurels and think that our government will do what we want it to do. We
have to do it ourselves. And I'm going to do everything that I can to
help rebuild that community, because it's now going to be my community.
I'm going to be living there, God willing, for the next six, seven,
eight or nine years. So, that will become my family and my place.

KW: Are the
people coming back?

AA: Yes,
people are coming back. People are there, but they need something to
come back to. If your whole life was washed away in a storm, what is
there for you to come back to, if you have nothing but the clothes on
your back? They’re making their way back, but they need some place to
come back to. You can't come back to dirt.

KW: While
making this movie in Hollywood, did you ever reflect on the fact that
you grew up on the other side of the tracks before making it to the
heights of showbiz?

AA: All the
time. I was actually born in Watts on 114th in the Nickerson
Gardens. And Tyrese [co-star Tyrese Gibson] was from the Jordan Downs
Projects right up the block. So, we would always sit down, and joke, and
talk about that. We did reflect not only on where we came from and where
we are now, but on what we're doing to bring the next generation of
Tyrese Gibsons and Anthony Andersons and Venus and Serena Williams from
those communities, and to bring them hope and to let everybody know that
if you have a dream, you can achieve it, if you believe in it, and stand
fast, and hold on to it, because we're living testaments to that. That's
mainly what we talked about, about how both of our charities could come
together and give back to those communities that we're from, and let
them know that anything is possible.